The investment objective of the Credit Suisse Gold Shares Covered Call ETN seeks to implement a "covered call" investment strategy by maintaining a notional long position in shares of the SPDR Gold Trust ETF while notionally selling monthly out-of-the-money call options on that position. Unlike ETFs, ETNs are debt securities issued by financial institutions that promise to pay the return of an index, minus fees and taxes. Therefore, investors are exposed to the credit risk or the possibility the underwriting bank goes bankrupt. The note can be vulnerable if the issuer gets into financial trouble, otherwise known as a default. With an ETN, an investor can lose some or all of their investment if the ETN issuer goes under.